Trafficking claim man was not 'duped', jury told

Sokol and Amarildo Rranci face modern slavery charges at Nottingham Crown Court

A man's claim to have been trafficked to the UK to work under duress in a cannabis farm is "not all it is cracked up to be", a court has heard.

Brothers Sokol Rranci, 28, and Amarildo Rranci, 30, are standing trial on modern slavery charges at Nottingham Crown Court.

They have admitted conspiring to run cannabis farms across Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

Defending for Amarildo Rranci, Philip Plant said the man had been a willing participant in the business.

'Free to come and go'

The prosecution alleges the man, a Greek national who cannot be named, was brought to the UK under the false impression he would be working in a restaurant.

Mr Plant asked the jury whether he had really been "duped", suggesting the case was "not all it is cracked up to be".

He said the man had not been kept at properties against his will but had instead been free to come and go.

He suggested the man had known he would be working in a cannabis farm but had had a falling out with those running it.

He said the jury had to decide where the man was at certain times, looking at witness testimonies as well as evidence showing where people's mobile phones were on various dates.

Mr Plant told the jury: "You may think that a case like this is a little bit like the children's books we all read when we were young.

"The book was called Where's Wally?"

Sokol Rranci had driven the man to a petrol station, where he had escaped and told staff he needed the police, the court heard previously.

Mr Plant suggested CCTV footage from the petrol station showed Amarildo Rranci had not been in the car at the time.

Sokol Rranci, of St Anne’s Drive, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and Amarildo Rranci, now of Ferry Road, Scunthorpe, were arrested in March 2022.

Prosecutors have previously said police found 14 cannabis farms in Mansfield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Hull, Scunthorpe, Worksop and Withernsea.

Both men deny arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

Sokol Rranci also denies a charge of possessing a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

The trial continues.

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